England must be considered among the world s very best sides and they are capable of going all the way in Qatar, says Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Three Lions defeated Koulibaly s Senegal 3-0 on Sunday at Al Bayt Stadium to seal their place in the last eight of the World Cup.
England, World Cup semi-finalists in 2018 and Euro 2020 finalists last year, are the tournament s leading scorers with 12 goals, while they have conceded only twice across their four matches.
France are next up for England on Saturday and while Koulibaly knows the Les Bleus will provide the sternest of challenges, he believes Gareth Southgate s team have every chance of going even deeper into the tournament.
They are very good. We know that they have a lot of talent, a lot of big players,…
Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller think Bayern Munich should be confident of beating Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Bundesliga champions will meet Frank Lampard s side in a repeat of the 2011-12 final, which Chelsea won on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Munich.
Neuer and Muller played in that heart-breaking home defeat for Bayern, who responded in the 2012-13 season by winning the treble, which included a Champions League final triumph over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
With Bayern having recaptured some better form since Hansi Flick took over as interim coach from Niko Kovac, particularly excelling in Europe, Neuer thinks his side can take a healthy level of confidence into the tie.
We re looking forward to London, where we ve had some…
Gianluca Vialli will temporarily step away from his role as delegation chief for the Italian national team to focus on his battle with pancreatic cancer.
Vialli announced he had undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy in November 2018, having been diagnosed with the disease one year earlier.
The former Chelsea and Juventus forward was initially given the all-clear in April 2020, but announced he was fighting the disease again in December 2021.
Vialli was a visible presence alongside Roberto Mancini in the dugout as Italy won Euro 2020 last year, but the 58-year-old is now putting a temporary halt to his duties with the Azzurri.
At the end of a long and difficult negotiation with my wonderful team of oncologists, I have decided to suspend, hopefully tempo…
Hibernian set up a glamour tie with Aston Villa after goals from Elie Youan and Martin Boyle earned a 2-2 draw against Luzern in Switzerland.
Hibs progressed 5-3 on aggregate to secure a Europa Conference League play-off against a Villa side captained by former Easter Road hero John McGinn, who was part of their 2016 Scottish Cup-winning team.
Youan fired Hibs into an early lead and set up Boyle to level the tie on the night in the 73rd minute, soon after Luzern had got within one goal on the aggregate score.
The Hibs rollercoaster keeps rolling in Europe
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC)
Villa are scheduled to visit Edinburgh for the first leg next Thursday.
Hibs had extended their first-leg lead in stoppage-time at Easter Road…
Antoine Griezmann is not obsessed with breaking Thierry Henry s goalscoring record for France as he stands on the brink of reaching 100 international caps.
Griezmann will have the chance to secure silverware if he makes his landmark outing on Sunday in the Nations League final, Les Bleus having set up a clash with Spain thanks to a sensational comeback victory over Belgium.
Didier Deschamps side trailed 2-0 at the interval but managed to turn the game around in the second half. Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe scored to draw the sides level before Theo Hernandez proved to be the unlikely hero, the full-back thundering in a 90th-minute winner.
Griezmann was not able to add to his tally of 41 goals for the national team, meaning he still trails Henry s career t…
With battles at both ends of the Premier League table now really starting to heat up, we have another stacked schedule on our hands. So, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday March 11th
BST 12:30 Bournemouth vs Liverpool
While Liverpool might have come under a string of scrutiny this season, Jurgen Klopp’s side are coming off the back of a remarkable romp on home soil. Eventually claiming a history-making 7-0 victory against historic rivals Manchester United, Saturday’s guests now have their sights firmly set on securing a much-needed top-four finish this season. With the mood around Anfield undoubtedly at the highest it has been this season, Klopp’s men will…
The Premier League title picture became little clearer on the first weekend after Christmas.
Liverpool and Tottenham were both held, while Manchester United played out a draw at Leicester City. Chelsea lost to struggling Arsenal.
But there was still plenty of intrigue across the latest round of fixtures as Edinson Cavani proved his worth again and Spurs struck swiftly before their late collapse.
With the help of Opta data, we take a look at some of the most interesting facts.
Cavani continues sublime sub form
United striker Cavani has still started just one Premier League match and played 207 minutes in the competition in total, but he provided another telling contribution as a substitute on Saturday as he assisted Bruno Fernandes goal at Lei…
Chelsea announced on Sunday that forward Sam Kerr sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during their warm weather training in Morocco.
The Australia international is now likely to be out for an extended period.
Here the PA news agency takes a look at how Chelsea can cope without Kerr.
How big is Kerr’s loss?
Kerr’s absence is a huge loss for Chelsea, who are chasing their fifth successive Women’s Super League title.
The two-time WSL Golden Boot winner is a prolific goalscorer for the team, scoring four in eight league games this season. Her 21 league goals in her first full season in 2020-21 was a WSL record until broken last season by Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly, and she followed it up with 20 and then 12.
Kerr has also been influ…
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes praised striker Sam Kerr as she dedicated her side’s third consecutive FA Cup victory to Blues fans in a year in which she feels the wider club has “suffered”.
Kerr struck the winner past England goalkeeper Mary Earps to fire Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in front of a crowd of 77,390 at Wembley, a new world record for a women’s domestic club fixture.
It was the fifth time in nine years Chelsea have triumphed in the showpiece and another game-changing moment from Australia international Kerr, who latched on to substitute Pernille Harder’s pinpoint pass to steer home the winner in the 68th minute.
Congratulations, !
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
“I’ve never coached a player like her,” said H…
Former Italy, Juventus and World Cup-winning boss Marcello Lippi said he is definitely done with coaching.
Lippi has been without a job since resigning as China head coach in November last year following a 2022 World Cup qualifying defeat to Syria – his second stint in charge of the Asian nation lasting just six months.
The 72-year-old tasted silverware with Italy, Serie A giants Juventus and Chinese powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande but the Italian great will not be returning to the dugout.
I m definitely done with the coaching job, Lippi told Radio Sportiva. That s right, it s enough.
Maybe I could be useful in other roles, let s see. But nothing until spring.
After spells with Atalanta and Napoli, Lippi took charge of Juventus in 1994 – gu…